Palace issued VP Sara Duterte Netherlands travel authority – PCO

Vice President Sara Duterte —File photo by Lyn Rillon | Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the President issued a travel authority to Vice President Sara Duterte for her travel to the Netherlands, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said on Wednesday.

It was issued at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, or hours before the vice president’s father, former President Rodrigo Duterte was flown to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court (ICC) arising from his bloody drug war.

“The Office of the President issued a travel authority to VP Sara as of last night 8 p.m.,” a PCO statement read.

“PCO was not immediately updated as the information was initially disclosed only to limited people due to the unusual urgency and the confidentiality of the document,” it added.

READ: LIVE UPDATES: Rodrigo Duterte at The Hague

The vice president is currently on her way to The Hague to accompany the former president as he faces the ICC. She left Manila at 7:40 a.m. on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the former president’s chartered flight left at 11:03 p.m. on Tuesday.

The Duterte administration’s bloody drug war claimed at least 6,000 lives, according to official government data.

Human rights watchdogs estimated, however, that the death toll was between 12,000 and 30,000 from 2016 to 2019.